LONDON, Aug. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Camellia Plc (CAM.L,
Camellia), the global agriculture group, announces the purchase of
an 80% stake in Bardsley England for £15.7m. Camellia will
also make a loan to Bardsley of £9.3m.
Bardsley England is a major fruit farming business and the UK's
second largest apple grower. The farming operation
covers 850 hectares (2,100 acres) in Kent and includes 27 orchards growing apples,
pears, cherries, plums and grapes as well as a large grading,
packing and storage facility. Bardsley grows nearly 18,000
tonnes of fruit a year and at peak season it employs 550 staff.
Bardsley is an innovator in the use of agritech, employing
technology such as micro-climate sensors to monitor for adverse
weather and wet leaf sensors to give early indication of pests and
disease. It also uses a combination of trailer-mounted
machine vision devices and remote satellite technology to improve
yield predictions and crop management.
Bardsley's customers include major supermarkets in the
UK.
The consideration, which is being satisfied from existing
resources, is payable as to £12.7m which was paid at completion
with the balance of £3m deferred and payable by July 2022.
Of the total consideration, approximately £9.7m
is being used to subscribe for new shares in the business with the
remainder being used to purchase existing shares. In addition
to strengthening Bardsley's balance sheet, the investment by
Camellia will support growth and ensure the business is able to
invest further in developing its packing operations and extending
its orchards. The loan mentioned above will largely be used
to repay Bardsley's existing borrowings.
Bardsley England operates through a number of UK
companies. For the year ended 31 March
2021 it had revenue of £22.4m* and recorded an unaudited
loss before tax of £1.7m*. Gross assets of the business at
that date were £26.2m* and net assets were £8.3m*.
The effect of the acquisition on Camellia's profit before tax
for 2021 is expected to be broadly neutral before deal costs of
£1.2m but is expected to be significantly earnings enhancing in
2022.
Benefits of the acquisition
- Camellia is a global agricultural group specialising in bearer
plants (plants that produce regular crops, such as fruit
trees). We are always looking to diversify our product and
geographical portfolio. Bardsley helps do both.
- As part of Camellia Bardsley
will have access to a wider customer base and lower cost of
finance.
- Bardsley's packhouse operations offers synergies with
Camellia's avocado, macadamia and blueberry businesses and works
with many of the same customers.
- Bardsley is a cash generative operation.
- The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in
2022.
- Bardsley being in the UK will improve Camellia's effective tax
rate.
Tom Franks, CEO at Camellia,
commented:
"We have been looking for some time to increase our focus on
agriculture where we have deep skills, and to increase our
operations in the UK. Bardsley helps with both. It is
located close to our HQ in Kent,
which is the premier region for apple growing in the country.
We look forward to partnering with the Bardsley family in the
future."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
Note
* Bardsley England operates through a number of
companies which have not previously been consolidated. The
figures quoted in this announcement represent an unaudited proforma
aggregation of the reported results of the individual entities for
the year ended 31 March 2021. The underlying results of the
entities are prepared under Financial Reporting Standard 102 and
are not wholly comparable with Camellia's accounting
policies.
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